Florida Tort Claims Act Notice of Claim Builder & Deadline Calculator

JusticeXpress Florida · Self-Help Tool

Notice-of-Claim Builder & Deadline Calculator

For tort claims against a Florida government entity under section 768.28(6), Florida Statutes. Reflects the HB 145 changes that apply to claims accruing on or after October 1, 2026. This tool organizes your notice and timing — it does not file anything for you.

1. Who caused the harm?

This decides whether you must send a second written notice to the Florida Department of Financial Services.

A Florida state agency or the State itselfe.g., FDOT, DCF, a state university or facility — notice to the agency and to DFS A countye.g., Miami-Dade County — notice to the county only (no DFS) A city, town, or municipalitye.g., City of Orlando — notice to the municipality only (no DFS) The Florida Space Authoritynotice to the Authority only (no DFS) Not sureThe tool assumes state-level and includes DFS, the safer default

2. Exact name of the government entity

3. What kind of claim is this?

4. Date the claim accrued

Usually the date of the injury, or for a wrongful death, the date of death. This date decides which caps and deadlines apply.

5. Your full name (the claimant)

6. Your mailing address

7. Where did it happen?

8. Briefly, what happened?

A few plain sentences. You can refine this later.

9. Date you sent / plan to send the written notice (optional)

Used to estimate the earliest date you could file suit.

Caps Most you can collect

—

per person

—

per incident

Notice Who you must notify, in writing

Deadlines Your timing (act early)

How these dates are calculated — deadline reference

If your claim accrued BEFORE October 1, 2026 (current law)

Caps: $200,000 per person / $300,000 per incident.
Claim type	Present written notice within	Deemed-denied after	File suit within
Personal injury (negligence)	3 years	6 months (180 days)	2 years
Wrongful death	2 years	90 days*	2 years*
Medical negligence	3 years	90 days*	2 years (4-yr repose)*
Sexual battery, victim under 16	no fixed deadline	6 months (180 days)	specially extended
Property damage / other	3 years	6 months (180 days)	2 yrs (negligence) / up to 4 yrs

If your claim accrues ON/AFTER October 1, 2026 (HB 145)

Caps: $350,000 per person / $500,000 per incident.
Claim type	Present written notice within	Deemed-denied after	File suit within
Personal injury (negligence)	18 months	4 months (120 days)	2 years
Wrongful death	18 months	90 days*	per § 95.11(5)*
Medical negligence	18 months	90 days*	per § 95.11(5)*
Sexual battery, victim under 16	any time	4 months (120 days)	no time limit
Property damage / other	18 months	4 months (120 days)	2 yrs (negligence) / up to 4 yrs

Sources: § 768.28(5)(a) (caps), (6)(a) (presuit notice), (6)(d) (deemed denial), and (14) (filing deadline), Fla. Stat., as amended by HB 145. *Medical-malpractice and wrongful-death filing deadlines run under § 95.11(5) and the statute of limitations is tolled while the agency considers the claim; medical claims also carry a repose period and a separate chapter 766 presuit screening. The sexual-battery exception does not revive a claim already time-barred on or before October 1, 2026. These figures are general and not a determination about your specific claim.

Letter Your draft presuit notice Copied

This is a self-help organizer, not legal advice, and not a substitute for an attorney. JusticeXpress Florida is not a law firm and does not select your claim type or guarantee any deadline. The dates shown are conservative planning estimates built from section 768.28, Florida Statutes (including the HB 145 amendments effective October 1, 2026), but your real, binding deadlines depend on your exact facts, the discovery rule, tolling, repose periods, and any separate presuit requirements (for example, chapter 766 for medical claims). A missed government-claim deadline ends the claim permanently. Confirm the recipient, address, and every deadline that applies to you — and consider consulting a licensed Florida attorney — before you rely on anything here. Nothing you type is saved or transmitted; it stays in your browser.